Hélio José Lopes Roque (born 20 July 1985) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Hélio Roque
Roque playing for Nea Salamina in 2013
Personal information
Full name Hélio José Lopes Roque[1]
Date of birth (1985-07-20) 20 July 1985 (age 39)[1]
Place of birth Huambo, Angola
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1996–2001 Arrentela
2001–2002 Amora
2002–2004 Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Benfica B 10 (4)
2005–2007 Benfica 3 (0)
2006Vitória Setúbal (loan) 11 (0)
2006–2007Olivais Moscavide (loan) 27 (4)
2007–2012 AEL Limassol 93 (15)
2011–2012Nea Salamina (loan) 28 (4)
2012–2014 Nea Salamina 57 (12)
2015–2016 Benfica Luanda 21 (5)
2017 Libolo 6 (0)
2017 Nea Salamina 8 (0)
2018–2020 Olímpico Montijo 50 (8)
2020–2021 Oriental 9 (0)
Total 323 (52)
International career
2004–2005 Portugal U20 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Born in Huambo, Angola to Portuguese settlers, Roque returned to his parents' country and started his football career at Atlético Clube Arrentela and Amora FC, moving at age 17 to S.L. Benfica.[2] He appeared with the main squad in the 2005 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, a 1–0 win against Vitória de Setúbal on 13 August in which he came on as a 68th-minute substitute for Geovanni;[3] also from the bench, he took the field in three Primeira Liga matches.[2]

Roque went on loan twice in the following months: in January 2006 he signed for top-flight Vitória Setúbal,[4] and spent the entire 2006–07 season with Lisbon neighbours C.D. Olivais e Moscavide of the Segunda Liga,[5] being released on 30 June 2007.[2]

Subsequently, Roque joined Cypriot club AEL Limassol. After a rather poor debut campaign, his form improved and he began appearing regularly in the starting XI;[6] in spite of being naturally right-footed, he featured mainly on the left wing.

In 2009–10, an injury meant Roque only resumed training in late January 2010. In the 2011 off-season, due to the fact AEL had too many foreign players, he was loaned to fellow First Division side Nea Salamis Famagusta FC, and the move was made permanent for the 2012–13 season.[2]

From 2015, Roque played in the Girabola of his birth country, with S.L. Benfica (Luanda)[7] and C.R.D. Libolo.[8] Afterwards, he had a brief second stint at Nea Salamina.[2]

In August 2018, Roque returned to Portugal after 11 years away, signing for third-tier team Clube Olímpico do Montijo.[9] He then joined Clube Oriental de Lisboa in the same league.[10]

Honours

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Benfica

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Hélio Roque" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Simões de Abreu, Alexandra (30 May 2020). ""No Benfica mandava o Veiga, o Simão dava-me as chuteiras dele, que tinham os nomes dos filhos. E eu abusava das noitadas"" ["Veiga was the boss at Benfica, Simão gave me his cleats, the ones that had his sons' names. And I was a real party animal"]. Expresso (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Benfica – V. Setúbal, 1–0 (Nuno Gomes 52')". Record (in Portuguese). 13 August 2005. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Hélio Roque emprestado ao V. Setúbal" [Hélio Roque loaned to V. Setúbal]. Record (in Portuguese). 28 December 2005. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Dois leões e uma águia no reino de Moscavide" [Two lions and one eagle in kingdom of Moscavide]. Record (in Portuguese). 8 August 2006. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Hélio Roque faz "hat-trick"" [Hélio Roque scores hat-trick]. Record (in Portuguese). 1 March 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  7. ^ Santos, Pedro (10 July 2015). "Hélio Roque marca no triunfo do Benfica de Luanda" [Hélio Roque scores in Benfica de Luanda's triumph] (in Portuguese). Relvado. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Gomito troca Benfica de Luanda pelo Recreativo do Libolo" [Gomito swaps Benfica de Luanda for Recreativo do Libolo] (in Portuguese). Rede Angola. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  9. ^ "OFICIAL: ex-Benfica volta a Portugal 11 anos depois" [OFFICIAL: ex-Benfica player returns to Portugal 11 years later] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Poucas mexidas para o jogo da Taça de Portugal" [Few changes for the Portuguese Cup game]. Record (in Portuguese). 21 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
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